Wall panel

ABSTRACT

A wall panel comprising a central layer of fabric having glued thereto on one side a layer of veneer wood or imitation leather and provided on the other side with plastic material secured to the fabric by hot pressing so as to impart to the wall panel the geometric embossed form of the pressing die.

United States Patent 1151 3,663,349 Venturino 51 May 16, 1972 WALL PANEL 1,443,195 1/1923 Potter ..16l/97 2,565,491 8/1951 Francis 161/254 X [72] Invent 5'5 Agnew 381mm, 2,812,277 11/1957 Hamming et a1 ..l61/89 UX a Y 3,212,957 10/1965 Linda et al ..l61/413 x [22] Filed: Mar. 18, 1971 3,539,433 11/1970 Edwards etal ..161/97 X [21 Appl. No.: 125,550 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS R l U Application Data 224,295 3/1958 Australia 161/38 283,023 1/1928 Great Britain 156/220 [63] Contmuation-m-part of Ser. No. 825-796, May 19,

1969, abandoned Primary E.xaminer-William A. Powell Attorney-Oberlin, Maky, Donnelly & Renner [52] U'.S.Cl ..l6l/130, 161/138, 161/413 [51] Int. Cl. ..B32b l/00, B32b 3/28 57 BSTR C [58] FieldofSearch ..l6l/36-4l,ll9-12l,

161/123 125 130 138 56/20 A wall panel comprising a central layer of fabric having glued thereto on one side a layer of veneer wood or imitation leather 56] References Cited and provided on the other side with plastic material secured to the fabric by hot pressing so as to impart to the wall panel the UNITED STATES PATENTS geometric embossed form of the pressing die. 453,689 6/1891 Bradley 161/120 4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Patented May 16, 1972 3,663,349

' i T Y lNVENTOR FIG. 2 3 FULVIO VENTURINO WALL PANEL CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 825,796, filed May 19, 1969, now abandoned.

This invention relates as indicated to a wall panel and more particularly to a wall panel composed of several layers of different material. I

Wall panels made of wood by skilled artisans or machines are well known in the art, but the cost of panels made in this manner is relatively high due to the high price of the solid wood employed as well as the large amounts of scrap which necessarily result from the working of the wood.

It is an object of the present invention to avoid these drawbacks by providing a wall panel formed of several layers of dif ferent material, comprising a layer of fabric carrying on one side a thin layer of veneer wood or imitation leather glued thereto by calendering, or the like. The fabric carries on its other side plastic material attached thereto by hot pressing or similar known methods thereby conferring to the assembly the embossed geometric forms of the die. The pressing operation and the relatively thin layer of precious wood veneer function to prevent the wood veneer from coming off or breaking at the sharp projections as this layer is firmly bonded over its entire surface to the layer of fabric.

In accordance with the invention, a very attractive wall panel is therefore obtained which can be quickly and easily attached to the wall by special glues and ordinary gluing methods. Further, this wall panel can be manufactured at low cost and, apart from its attractive appearance, is also desirable from an architectonic point of view.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a wall panel wherein the plastic layer is discontinuous in a prearranged manner to provide spaces on intervals between the plastic sections, thereby permitting the wall panel to be rolled up.

The accompanying drawing shows, merely by way of a nonlimiting example, a preferred embodiment of the invention in the form of a square wall panel whose sides are about 16 inches. In said drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, top perspective view of the wall panel of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the wall panel, and

FIG. 3 is a crosssectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. I.

A layer of wood veneer is indicated by l and is glued to a layer of fabric 2 by any suitable gluing method and adhesive, for example, by hot joiners glue. A layer of plastic material 3 is attached to the other side of the fabric material 1 to impart to the assembly the desired exterior configuration. Any suitable plastic material such as polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene or a mixture of these materials can be used, with polystyrene being the preferred material.

In the form shown, the panel is provided with an embossed exterior design, with the embossing being effected by hot pressing the three-part assembly. The hot pressing is preferably performed by means of a conventional hydraulic press having a die shaped to provide the desired embossed or other configuration. The hot pressing is preferably at 200-23 0 C. at which temperature the plastic material penetrates into the fabric and firmly adheres thereto.

The layer 3 of plastic material is preferably formed, during or before the hot pressing operation, with small intervals or spaces between each section thereof, as shown in FIG. 2, thereby providing flexibility in the wall panel and permitting the same to be rolled up. The layer 1 of wood veneer is relatively thin so as to enhance such flexibility and permit such rolling up of the panel.

In another embodiment of the invention the layer of wood may be replaced by imitation leather.

I claim:

1. A wall panel comprising a central layer of fabric material,

a thin layer of wood veneer adhesively secured to one side of said fabric, and a layer of plastrc material secured by hot pressing to the other side of said fabric material, said plastic material and said wood veneer being deformed during hot pressing to impart to the exterior of the wall panel the desired configuration.

2. The wall panel of claim 1 wherein said plastic material is selected from the group comprising polyethylene, polypropylene, or a mixture of these materials.

3. The wall panel of claim 1 wherein said plastic material extends over the fabric material in sections spaced by small intervals from each other so as to provide a wall panel that can be rolled up.

4. A wall panel comprising a central layer of fabric material, a thin layer of imitation leather adhesively secured to one side of said fabric, and a layer of plastic material secured by hot pressing to the other side of said fabric material, said plastic material and said imitation leather being deformed during hot pressing to impart to the exterior of the wall panel the desired configuration. 

2. The wall panel of claim 1 wherein said plastic material is selected from the group comprising polyethylene, polypropylene, or a mixture of these materials.
 3. The wall panel of claim 1 wherein said plastic material extends over the fabric material in sections spaced by small intervals from each other so as to provide a wall panel that can be rolled up.
 4. A wall panel comprising a central layer of fabric material, a thin layer of imitation leather adhesively secured to one side of said fabric, and a layer of plastic material secured by hot pressing to the other side of said fabric material, said plastic material and said imitation leather being deformed during hot pressing to impart to the exterior of the wall panel the desired configuration. 